This post is not so much about the pie as it is about the pie foreplay: an entire weekend leading up to a delicious pie.

Amanda (my sister) and I went on a spree up into the mountains this weekend to check out the fall colors. We stopped at an orchard where we were supposed to meet up with some friends for picking. Unfortunately, we’d gotten stuck in traffic (it appeared that EVERYONE decided to go to the orchards this weekend), so we went picking on our own– but not before sampling all the wares.

At the apple tasting counter, I asked to sample the “best apple I’d probably never eaten”. They handed me a slice of goldrush. Instant love affair. It isn’t currently in the U-Pick selection, so we went over to the pre-picked apples. I stood in deliberation for a moment before grabbing the biggest bag they had. Half a peck of delicious delicious apples. It looks something like this:

Then, because we didn’t have enough apples, we went out and picked some.

The day was beautiful, the people were southern, and the guys were in cowboy hats.

And, because you can eat as many apples as you want while in the orchard, we ate our fill too:

Loaded up with too many apples, we headed over to our campsite. Down a dirt road:

And into a campground we had entirely to ourselves:

The weekend was refreshing, the weather was gorgeous, the air was crisp, and the company was marvelous. And the apples… they called out to be made into a pie. So within an hour of arriving at home, a pie was out of the oven and cooling.

The pie was quite plain:

3 Gold rush apples, peeled and chopped.

A pinch of salt

A teaspoon of tapioca starch

A teaspoon of cinnamon

Some nutmeg

Toss them together, put in pie shell, and top with a pat o’ butter.

Since I couldn’t decide whether to do a crumble top or a pie crust, I made the crust– but then topped heartily it with a mixture of butter, cinnamon sugar, and brown sugar. I felt justified in the sugar since there was absolutely none in the pie itself.

Baked at 350F for 40min, until browned. I topped it with the (caramelized/toasted) apple peels to make it look fancy. But I was stupidly taking pictures in low light outside, where we were carving pumpkins– and the pictures didn’t really turn out.

The pie was definitely apple pie, and definitely delicious.

Three of us ate it in one night. This was all that was left in the morning, and that soon disappeared.

The crispness of the apples didn’t fade upon cooking: they stayed quite crunchy so it felt almost like eating a fresh-apple pie. Saucy apples have their place, and maybe a mixture would be nice too— but I really liked this contrast from the standard mushier apple. And the flavor of these apples really speaks for itself.

The caramelized spiced sugar on top was also a great addition.

I had a delicious taste of fall this weekend, and I still have so many apples left… I’m sure I can find a use for them!